THE WAKKER WEEKLY - Issue #1297 - Posted on: 07-Dec-2015

Bushwakker News

Our premium wine features for December are Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlot from Washington. $9.95 for a glass and $27.95 for a half litre as well as the House Wine Co. Riesling Pinot Grigio VQA from Niagara, Ontario. $7.95 for a glass and $21.95 for a half litre.

Our guest draught tap is currently pouring Rebellion Bourbon Barrel Double Oatmeal Stout. $9.95 for a pint. Next up will be Black Bridge Milk Stout from Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

Our Christmas lights are now hanging around the interior perimeter of the pub just in time for our annual Blackberry Mead Release this Saturday. Bushwakker bartenders, Sean Barschel and Troy Bleich, hung approximately 500 lights!

Looking for a gift for the Bushwakker enthusiast on your list? Bushwakker gift cards make excellent stocking stuffers. If you are looking for something more unique, our Growler Gift Boxes are a big hit. We even have fancy, ornate growlers featuring ceramic closures and steel handles. Brand new this year, we have our Bushwakker “Beer To Die For” hoodies available in either zipper or pullover styles.

Bushwakker Blackberry Mead Queen/King Bee Limerick Contest. Want to experience the ultimate Bushwakker Blackberry Mead royal treatment? Sit on a royal throne, wear a royal robe, enjoy an abundance of food and some very, very special drink whilst elevated over the entire pub? All this can be yours on December 5th by simply being creative and witty. Write a limerick telling us Why You Love Blackberry Mead. The winner will be the person who submits the limerick that resonates with us the best. Email your entries to us at bar@bushwakker.com. Feel free to submit as many as you’d like. Contest starts right now and closes Friday, December 4th at noon. Good luck and have fun!

Bushwakker Events

Dec. 4: First Firkin Friday. Enjoy the pomp and circumstance as a small keg of specially created beer is paraded throughout the pub lead by a piper from The Regina Police Services Pipes & Drums. A volunteer is selected to wield The Mighty Firkin Wakker and attempt to tap the keg without soaking themselves and all those in the immediate vicinity. The firkin procession begins at 5:30 and the pub is normally almost at capacity by 4:00. Plan to come early to avoid getting a wet seat!

Dec. 5: 2015 Bushwakker Blackberry Mead Release – aka Mead Day.#MeadDay2015 A true Saskatchewan phenomenon! We have been brewing our Blackberry Mead all year long preparing for our annual kick-off to the holiday season. 400 pounds of Lumsden Valley honey and 84 pounds of blackberries are in every batch. Last year our entire Blackberry Mead offsale inventory of over 6000 bottles sold out in less than two hours. The devoted mead enthusiasts braved a Saskatchewan winter night and began forming a line 14 hours before it went on sale – yes, 9:00 PM on the Friday night! The line-up stretched almost all the way to 8th Avenue by 10:00 AM. Experienced mead lovers came prepared with ice fishing huts and propane heaters. Portapotties will once again be in place and Bushwakker head brewer, Mitch Dalrymple, will be serving hot chocolate to all those waiting in line. The Blackberry Mead Line Enforcement Crew will also be present to ensure there is no butting-in-line and will be passing out mead-purchase eligibility vouchers. Mead trivia questions will be posed to those waiting in line and free tuques will be given to the winners. View the days remaining to Bushwakker Mead Day on our countdown clock over our brewhouse door. Local artist and designer, Gavin de Lint, has created a limited edition commemorative 2015 Bushwakker “Believe in Mead” purple pom-pom tuque which will be unveiled that day. Blackberry Mead cheesecake will also be available. Take home bottle purchases will be limited to 12 bottles per person. $75 for a six-pack or $150 for 12 bottles. Catch the buzz!
Visit our website homepage or view: https://www.facebook.com/TheBushwakker/videos/861106367256390/ to see video footage of last year’s Blackberry Mead Release.

Dec. 12: Annual "Missiletow" Christmas Ale Release at 11:00 AM Sharp! Avid fans of our "other" Christmas specialty brew look forward to this day every year. Only one tank of our winter warmer is produced annually. Rich malt flavours with plenty of depth and complexity abound. The perfect ale to sip on whilst curled up with a good book in front of a fireplace on a cold Saskatchewan winter night. We hope this special seasonal ale will last on tap until Christmas but the limited number of bottles will most likely sell out very quickly.

Dec. 30: Wednesday Night Folk. Billarney. Great Celtic music from this very large acoustic band. 9:00 PM.

Dec. 31: Nothing For New Year's 10. It's been a decade since we decided we wouldn't do anything special for New Year's Eve at The Bushwakker. It has definitely proven to be our most popular non-event ever! To celebrate 10 years of nothing, we're doing absolutely nothing! We'll most likely do even less than normal! There will still be no noise makers, no band, no escalated drink prices, no cover charge, no midnight champagne, no dancing, no line-ups, no hassle, no problem. We will however be accepting reservations because it seems like there are quite a few of you who get pretty excited about a whole lotta' nothin'!

Jan. 23: The Bushwakker 25th Anniversary Party. Get ready for the biggest birthday bash we have ever presented! Here's a glimpse into what we are planning. The release of our commemorative Revenge of The Tartan Tzar Macallan 12 Year old single malt scotch infused Russian Imperial Stout which has been aging for over a year, the tapping of a firkin of Highland Park infused MacGregor's Wee Heavy, the unveiling of a 25th anniversary t-shirt designed and presented by renowned Saskatchewan artist, Joe Fafard, the presentation of a special Bushwakker poem composed by Saskatchewan author and playwright, Ken Mitchell, speeches and presentations, free haggis, neeps and birthday cake and rollicking Celtic reels from The Tilted Kilts. The dance floor will be open! Yes, we need to celebrate Robert Burns' birthday too. Highland dancing and a massive pipe and drum band will perform. Come join us and allow us to thank you for a quarter century of incredible enthusiasm and support!

December Artist

Bonnie, a self-taught artist, was born and raised in Saskatchewan, constantly inspired by the natural beauty of the prairies, her love of animals, and color.

Although watercolor is her primary choice of medium, she also uses soft pastels, coloured pencil, graphite, acrylic, oil and ink.

Bonnie is a member of the Aurora Guild, as well as a member of the Art Gallery of Regina and has exhibited her paintings at the Members Salon Show from 2007-2014. She frequently hangs paintings at the Alan Blair Cancer Clinic, Regina Center Crossing, Government House, The Lemon Drop Salon, Bushwakker, and The Greenspot Café. Her solo shows in 2008 and 2013 were held “Outside the Box” an Art Gallery of Regina member’s gallery at the Neil Balkwill Center. She was invited to be a part of the Cystic Fibrosis Art Show and Auction in 2008 and 2009. She has donated several paintings for other fundraising events including; The Regina Humane Society Garden Party, Hopes Homes, Wings Over Wascana, Alzheimer’s Gala Event, United Way Silent Auctions, Grandmothers for Grandmothers.

The featured show is entitled: Our Beautiful Land and the Treasures Within. It is a collection of treasures and images of wonder from the beautiful land we live in. All paintings are created in Acrylic on stretched canvas.

In an effort to better meet customer demand for craft beer products, BC Liquor Stores have been given the green light to work with their closest To tailor each store’s selection of microbrewery products to its local market, beginning on Nov. 30, 2015, BC Liquor Stores will accept up to 12 non-listed products from the breweries closest to their location.

Non-listed products are products that are not generally sold across the BC Liquor Stores chain.

This new program – coming into effect at the start of BC Buy Local week – will offer new opportunities for exposure of microbreweries’ products. With close to 200 stores in all areas of the province, ensuring shelf space for local microbreweries is also a way BC Liquor Stores can introduce their customers to new and unique products from breweries that are closer to home.

BC Liquor Stores will periodically review the offerings to ensure that products available on shelves continue to be aligned with consumer demand.

Quick Facts: Microbreweries are considered to be wholesale-based craft breweries that produce 15,000 hectolitres (HL) or less annually.

There are currently 102 microbreweries in B.C. eligible for this new program. In 2011, there were 57 – the number has almost doubled in the past five years.

Ed. Note: From our count it appears that the authors have included B. C. brewpubs in the list of 102.

Time Out

A dentist was getting ready to clean an elderly lady's teeth. He noticed that she was a little nervous, so he began to tell her a story as he was putting on his surgical gloves...
"Do you know how they make these rubber gloves?"
She said, "No?"
"Well," he spoofed, "down in Mexico they have this big building set up with a large tank of latex, and the workers are all picked according to hand size. Each individual walks up to the tank, dips their hands in, and then walk around for a bit while the latex sets up and dries right onto their hands! Then they peel off the gloves and throw them into the big 'Finished Goods Crate' and start the process all over again."
And she didn't laugh a bit!!! Five minutes later, during the procedure, he had to stop cleaning her teeth because she burst out laughing.
The old woman blushed and exclaimed, "I just suddenly thought about how they must make…

Our New Weekend Special is a Prime Rib & Giant Yorkie Dinner (available in two sizes)

Soup & Sandwich Special is $11.95. All hot specials are $15.95, except where noted, and include a serving of soup du jour, chopped, or Caesar salad.